Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Pritchard And Buchanan Pre-Draft Quotes: June 17

It should come as no surprise that much of the interest from the media today revolved around Tyler Hansbrough's workout. Being a National Champion and the National Player of the Year will do that. But Kevin Pritchard and the rest of the staff in attendance today in Tualatin wanted to make sure everyone knew that the workout was hardly a one-man show.

"You like (Hansbrough) and he would fit us, but there was a lot of guys out there that would fit us," said Pritchard. "We had a great workout today. I think the difference in today than what we’ve had in the past is when you’re looking at lottery picks, potentially, it’s all on potential. Today was legitimate NBA guys who could be put on the floor. Maybe not have a higher ceiling as some of the other ones, but definitely an NBA-caliber workout today."

The consensus seemed to be that the age and maturity of players workout today made for a better run than we've seen in previous workouts. Pritchard went so far as to call it a "workout of men." All of the participants aside from Derrick Brown played four years of college ball, which seems to be a rarity these days.

"You look at Jeff (Pendergraph) and Dante (Cunningham) and Tyler, those guys are physically ready to play in an NBA game," said Chad Buchanan. "All three of those guys, all four year guys, which makes a difference obviously in the maturity both physically and in their skill sets. It was a great group today. I thought from top to bottom it was about the best workout that we’ve had come through here."

So for more on today's workouts, we once again look to the opinions of Pritchard and Buchanan.

Derrick Brown, 6-8, Forward, Xavier

Buchanan: "He’s gotten stronger over his career at Xavier. He’s defiantly drafted. I’m not sure quite where yet."

Pritchard: "Derek was really good today. He can shoot it. He spreads the floor. Has a little bit of Travis Outlaw in him because he can put it down and he creates mismatches because of his size. He was terrific today."

Darren Collison, 6-0, Guard, UCLA

Buchanan: "This kid is an NBA player. Thought he was very good today. He’s got great command of the ball. Very poised, makes good decisions. Shoots a really soft ball. Got good quicks, handles it. He’s a pretty complete player.

"I think he’s getting there (defensively). He’s got the feet to do it. I wouldn’t call him a great defender at this point but I think he can be. He was asked to do so much offensively. That can kind of take away a kids mindset of wanting to guard people. But he’s going to be fine guarding our league."

Pritchard: "Darren Collison is about as tough as they get. He was feisty, he was tough. He was setting big screens and he competed out there with the big boys today too."

Dante Cunningham, 6-8, Forward, Villanova

Buchanan: "Just a sold role guy. He’s physical and can shoot a little bit. Tough kid. Comes from a great coach, great program. Very solid player."

Justin Dentmon, 5-11, Guard, Washington

Buchanan: "We had a guy cancel on us and we brought in Justin to replace him and I thought Justin held his own today. He’s quick. He can match up a little bit with Darren’s quickness. He’s obviously small. Needs to get a little better with the ball, I think. Guys that little have to have a special trait."

Tyler Hansbrough, 6-9, Forward, North Carolina

Buchanan: "He is what he is. You see him at Carolina, you see him in the gym, you meet him, he’s exactly what you think. Great kid. We really like him as a kid. He’s blue-collar, he’s going to come in and play his butt off. He’s not going to say a word. He’s going to play the right way.

"He’s improved his skill set over the four years at Carolina. He’s stepping out and shooting it a little bit now. His body looks great. He’s going to come in and he’s going to impact NBA games just because of how hard he plays. He’s a low risk guys because you know he can help you. He’s probably not a starter but he can come in off your bench and give you some energy, some toughness. 82 games, he’s going to play 100 percent 82 games. He doesn’t know any other way to play."

Pritchard: "The thing about Tyler is he comes in for a workout, you already know what you’re going to get before he walks into the building, right? He’s high intensity, he’s a tough kid, he’s won at a high level. There’s a lot of teams that are going to be interested in him."

Jeff Pendergraph, 6-9, Forward, Arizona State

Buchanan: "He’s got good size. He knows what he is as a player. You know he’s not going to give you a ton of offense but he’s going to play the right way, he’s going to set screens, he’s going to finish easy plays that more talented guys create for him. He’s going to play good position defense. Really an intelligent kid. Been well coached. He doesn’t have star potential but I think you can put him on an NBA floor."

Pritchard: "He shot the ball really well during shooting drills. He’s going to be a good defender in our league. He’s a great runner. If you’re going to run he’s going to really look good."